Pennsylvania Man Sentenced to 39 Months in Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

Pennsylvania Man Sentenced to 39 Months in Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

WASHINGTON—Vincent Petaccio, 61, of Levittown, Pa., was sentenced today to 39 months in prison after earlier pleading guilty to a federal charge of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., Andrew G. McCabe, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Cathy L. Lanier, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

Petaccio entered the guilty plea in March 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Rudolph Contreras. Upon completion of his prison term, Petaccio will be placed on 10 years of supervised release. He also will be required to register as a sex offender for at least 15 years.

According to the government’s evidence, on April 12, 2013, Petaccio contacted an undercover officer with the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, who had posted an ad on a social network site. Over the course of two days, Petaccio engaged in instant message conversations with officer, whom he believed was the father of an under-aged girl.

During their communications, Petaccio sent the undercover officer 59 still images and 10 videos of graphic child pornography. Pursuant to a search of Petaccio’s home at the time of his arrest, law enforcement recovered approximately 150 still images and 10 videos of child pornography on his computer.

This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative and investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes members of the FBI’s Washington Field Office and MPD. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge McCabe and Chief Lanier praised the work of the MPD Detectives and Special Agents of the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office and the Fort Washington, Pa. Resident Agency. Finally, they commended the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Ari Redbord, who prosecuted the case.